You Don't Need an iPad for These Web Apps

Apps are a great educational resource, but if you don’t have a tablet, smartphone, or iPod touch, you can’t really use them, right? Well, not exactly. You actually can access thousands of free and paid apps on your desktop, laptop, or netbook using Google Chrome.

Registered users can simply go to the Chrome Web Store and start searching for apps. Once you click on the apps you want to try, Google Chrome automatically places the icons on your homepage. If it turns out that you don’t like an app, right-click and select Remove.

One limitation of many of the free web apps offered through the Chrome Web Store is that some are not actually apps, but shortcut icons to the apps’ webpages. Some have in-game advertising that may not be suitable for young children. And some are littered with advertisement banners that create a distraction during game play.

But despite those drawbacks, you can still find hundreds of apps to meet your students’ learning and productivity needs.